The tiny-house movement is an architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in small homes. It’s a return to simplicity from the ever-increasing size of family homes. Although the movement has been around since at least the 1970s, it got a lot of traction after the 2008 recession. There were even TV shows dedicated to tiny house living, including “Tiny House Nation” and “Tiny House Hunters”. Books written by early pioneers of tiny house living include the Shelter Library of Building Books by Lloyd Kahn (1973), Tiny Houses by Lester Walker (1987), and The Not so Big House by Sarah Susanka (1997). Tiny houses on wheels were popularized by Jay Shafer who designed and lived in a 96 sq. ft. house and published a book about his experience titled The Small House Book (2009). Tiny houses on wheels are often compared to RVs, and they could be pulled like a regular travel trailer. You can find many interesting videos about building and living in tiny houses on YouTube. 🙂
So, why are we talking about tiny houses on a LEGO blog? Well, I’m very fond of RV-living, and also LEGO models of RVs. As we discussed in previous articles (see: LEGO Travel-Trailers & Camper-Vans, and More LEGO Travel-Trailers & Camper-Vans), LEGO themselves released a number of campers through the years, and there are also many custom campers designed by LEGO fans. We could consider most LEGO buildings as tiny houses, but I have never seen a LEGO tiny house on wheels, until just a few days ago. And what a cute tiny house this is!
The Tiny house on wheels and 1970 Chevrolet C10 was designed and built by LEGO fan Thomas Gion. The exterior of the tiny house features gas and battery power, plus folding supports/chocks for when it’s not being towed. The interior has a kitchen with sink and microwave, a bathroom with toilet and shower, a staircase with built-in shelving that leads to a lofted sleeping area, and a table with chairs that folds and stows to the wall. The truck is a 1970 C10 with custom trim package is a relatively straightforward build, and looks really sweet with matching colors to the tiny house.
I have included some pictures here, so you can check out both the interior and the exterior, and for more and larger images visit Thomas’ flickr gallery. There are lots of very nice details. If you would like to build your own LEGO tiny house on wheels, you should be able to copy most of the design from the pictures, and Thomas may also release building instructions in the future, so keep an eye on his gallery.
LEGO’s most popular camper is the large #10220 LEGO Creator Volkswagen T1 Camper Van, but personally, I prefer the smaller minifig-scale campers. Currently, you can purchase the #31079 LEGO Creator Sunshine Surfer Van, the #60182 LEGO City Pickup & Caravan, and the #41339 LEGO Friends Mia’s Camper Van. All of them are available at the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like the LEGO tiny house on wheels? Do you have an interest in tiny houses? Have you ever built one or lived in one? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉
And you might also like to check out the following related posts:
